External Graphics Card For Laptop - With ExpressCard Adapter?

[danie2727]

GOAL: I am looking for a graphics card I can use externally with a USB to ExpressCard adapter since I do not have an ExpressCard slot in my laptop. There is no way to update a graphics card in my laptop however; an external graphics card is definitely an option.

REASON: I want to be able to run Guild Wars 2 on my computer. I have gotten into the game and it works fine but then it crashes. I am also not going need this graphics card for any other game so minimum requirements that will still make the game work and keep the cost low are very welcome!

BUDGET: Around $250, but I would rather spend around $100.

MY COMPUTER: I have a Toshiba Satellite C655-S5128.

Computer System Specifics:

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601)

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 380 @ 2.53GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.5 GHz

Memory: 4096MB RAM

Chip Type: Intel(R) Graphics (Core i3)

***I used the Can You Run It? site and found the issue:

My Video card only has 64 MB of Dedicated Video RAM and I need at least 256 MB.
I also need a Pixel Shader version of 3.0 or better and Vertex Shader version of 3.0 or better.

QUESTIONS: Can you recommend a graphics card that will fulfill my minimum requirements and is compatible with my computer?
Does anyone know if the converter will make a difference with compatibility and/or preformance? I have also heard of a ViDock but can't I just stick the new external graphics card into the ExpressCard Slot in the adapter?


NOTE: I do not have the money or time to build or buy a gaming desktop. I need my laptop for work purposes so I cannot sell this. I know I cannot upgrade the actual graphics.

 

[blazorthon]

External graphics solutions are often hard to get, expensive, and not very well performing. Also, i3s only have two cores, not four. They have two virtual threads, but those are not actual cores.

I'd recommend saving up for a decent $500 or so desktop rather than trying this mess.

The reason this person, as well as I, am looking to do this is, we do not taking gaming so serious as to invest such serious money--$500 is not chump change! And for about $100, you can put together an external graphic card system that can transfer to ANY laptop, so it isn't a wasted investment.
With MMO games like LOTRO and WoW and EQ2 and so on constantly patching their games, it often times leaves out the players who have a great working laptop to play on; I know, it happened to me for both LOTRO and WoW. The only thing I could do was buy RAM upgrade, and I still barely get by.

One problem here is that external graphics solutions are typically very expensive too, not only $100.
Please, show me where you can get a decent external solution for $100. That would mean the external adapter (and any other hardware that ma be necessary to go with it, depending on the adapter) and the graphics card to go with it. The link in this page only shows a price for an adapter itself and that's only part of what you need since it does not include a graphics card. The adapter linked above also requires a separate power supply.

A mere one lane of PCIe bandwidth can easily be a significant bottleneck and not just any laptop is compatible with the solution that is linked above. Of the several laptops I currently own, none of them are compatible with it. The only way listed in the link to alleviate most of this bottleneck is to open up the laptop and connect another wire to an internal mini PCIe slot- that's tedious to undo and redo every time you want to hook it up for games if you move the laptop often, to say the least. It also assumes that the laptop has a spare mini PCIe slot, granted this is usually true.

If $500 is too much to save up for, then for light gaming, I recommend replacing your laptop with one with a decent graphics option. I recently bought a laptop for $450 that maxes out the setting for WoW no problem at its native resolution of 1366x768. You can even sell your current laptop to help with the cost.

It'd probably be better than spending say $100 on the adapter, $50 to $75 on a power supply, and probably another $75 to $100 on a graphics card for a solution that *might* work, and if it does, it *might* work well enough to use. Let's not forget a case that you'd probably want for all of that external hardware. That might be another $30 to around $70. I would not be comfortable with a minimum estimated purchase of about $250 for something like this that carries such risks and I most certainly am not comfortable with recommending it.

 

[Caleb Ryan]

External graphics solutions are often hard to get, expensive, and not very well performing. Also, i3s only have two cores, not four. They have two virtual threads, but those are not actual cores.

I'd recommend saving up for a decent $500 or so desktop rather than trying this mess.

Quite correct, I setup a build at pcpartpicker.com and made a great deal for ~$411 and it will be pretty great. And dont worry, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to know how to build one its pretty simple companies have been pretty good and worked together for a one piece can fit here its like legos but not every lego can go anywhere. But computer companies overcharge greatly so I recommend personally building it. Dont feel comfortable building it? Email me at calebryan.emailis@gmail.com Just order the parts, pay for shipment to me and to you and I will personally build it for you, talk to me and we can discuss a reasonable cheap price

 

[noas1019]

Hey guys, I wondering if I could use a USB3.0 (or 2.0) to ExpressCard adapter to hook up a graphics card to my laptop? I have Toshiba C55 that doesnt have an express card slot, however I did find a product online that would allow an express card to connect to an external graphics card. So ultimately the question is: Is an USB to Express Card adapter strong enough to work for an external graphics card? (Buying a new laptop is not an option for me as i have to much valuable info on this laptop).

 

[blazorthon]

Bit late, but no, a usb adapter won't work how you want it to. Those adapters are not meant for allowing you to use a gaming graphics card; they are just for getting more monitors like for stock market day trader. USB has huge latency compared to PCIe and is at a severe bandwidth disadvantage, USB 2.0 extremely so. I bet it would also tax the CPU greatly.

I don't understand how "valuable info" is not able to be moved to a new laptop. Can you elaborate on this?